Means to generate gas from coal and analogous substances



J. H. CQRTHESY.

MEANS T0 GENERATE GAS FROM COAL AND ANALOGOUS SUBSTANCES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 10, 1919 Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

By! L is J L1 J. H. CORTHESY.

MEANS TO'GENERATE GAS'FROM COAL AND ANALOGOUS SUBSTANCES.

. APPLICATION FILED MAY10,I919. 1 ,360,503. Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- a c/Zdes ji- Cali/168% UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J U LES HIPPOLYTE COBTHESY, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO SAVERIO THOMAS STEPHEN CASTELLI, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

'MEAfNS Tb ennnaarn GAS FROM COAL AND ANALOGOUS SUBSTANCES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J ULES HIPPOLYTE Con'rHnsY, a citizen of the Republic of Switzerland, residing at 50 Thornhill Houses, Barnsbury, London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Means to Generate Gas from Coal and Analogous Substances, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for the generation of gas from coalor like fuel in a pulverulent condition and wherein the fuel is subjected to a whirling or like motion.

Apparatus of this class has heretofore been proposed for producing gas designed for immediate combustion, either for the treatment of materials mixed with the fuel or for other heating purposes, a whirling motion of the fuel being produced by means of an air jet or jets.

The object of this invention is to provide apparatus of the kind above referred to wherein gas can be generated which can be used for lighting purposes and to this end the invention may be said to consist mainly in the utilization of a portion of the gas generated for maintaining in motion or suspension the fuel which is to be subjected to the distilling action without the employment of atmospheric air the oxygen of which would tend to render the gas unstable.

.In a suitable construction for carrying out this invention I arrange generating chambers for two qualities of gas and for this purpose I provide a cylindrical case in the upper portion of which is arranged a cone and around the base of which part is an annular opening which communicates with a chamber or space below the said cone. The

- fuel is first introduced into the generating chamber, hereinafter referred to as the distilling chamber, above the cone, where it is subjected to the vortex action of a current of a portion of the gas just previously generated .in the said chamber and distilled therein, the coke or residue of the distillation then passing into the lower chamber 'where it is acted upon by an air current which again imparts motion to it and wherein gas of a different, nature is produced. Steam may be introduced into this lower chamber so thatwater-gas is generated, the gas passing up through the interior of the cone and being led ofi'to anypoint for conmmntion and during its passage heating the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 30,1920.

upper chamber and superheating the gas current above referred to, or independent means may be employed for effecting such superheating. I Such a degree of superheatlng may be imparted to the gas current in the distilling chamber by said independent means as to enable the complete distillation of the fuel introduced into it to be effected.

This invention will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a vertical central section of a generator constructed according to my present invention, and

Fig. 2 is a plan of the same.

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 33, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4c is a section on the line 44, Fig. 8. t Fig. 5 is asectional view illustrating a de- Fig. 6 is a view illustrating a modification of the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, and

Figs. 7 and 8 are sectional views illustrating modifications of the generator.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view similar to Fig.

'1 illustrating a further modification of my invention.

Figs. 10 and 11 are sections on the lines 115-11 and 1212, of Fig. 9, respectively; an

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of still another modification.

In the arrangement of this invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4: the casing aof the generator is divided into two chambers b, c the division between which chambers is in the form of a hollow cone 0}, and the communication between the two chambers is in the form of an annular opening 6 around the base of the cone and between the latter and a lining ring f of the casing.

The chamber 0 has at the lower part a grate 9 upon which a fire is lighted for 1 the chamber 0. passes' -fip through an outlet pipe 2" connected the. small end of the cone d, and the gas generated in the distilling chamber b escapes through an outlet passage formed by a casing i surrounding passing through the pipe 2' and return it to the chamber 5 in order to produce a vortex action therein to distribute the fuel in a well-known manner.

Under the heat which is imparted to the apparatus initially by lighting a fire on the grate g, the fuel in the chamber 5 will be subjected to the action of distillation, the gas given off escaping through the passage 2; and as a portion of this gas, whichis at a high temperature, is returned into the said chamber 1) by the fan 70, the distillation will be accelerated.

The fuel residues resulting from he distillation in the chamber 5 pass thro gh the annular opening 6 around the base of the cone into the chamber 0, wherein the said residues are subjected to a vortex action by means of an air current introduced tangentially through a pipe Z and wherein, owing to the heat within the said chamber, the complete decomposition of the fuel will be effected. The gas generated in the chamber 0 passes up through the cone (Z to the outlet pipe z'. m is a supplementary grid or grate advantageously formed of inclined ra- 'dial bars m for confining the vortex action to the upper part of the chamber 0 and prevent it interfering with the fire on the grate g.

As gravitatlon and concentration may 5 cause the fuel to travel in close proximity to the walls of the chambers 79 and 0 and to adhere thereto, I may arrange aroundthe cylindrical walls of the chamber projections or bafiies such as m Fig. 5, which serve to cause a disturbance in the fuel particles coming in contact with the walls and thereby maintain them in suspension.

It will be understood that the louver like arrangement of the radial bars m shown in Fig. 4 is not essential for instance, bars of V or triangular section can be employed as shown in Fig. 6.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 the pipes and Z open into the chambers b, c the full depth of the latter so that the respective currents of as and air directed thereby act upon the whole of the fuel passing through the said chamber at any moment. It will also be noticed in the said figures that the said currents for producing a vortex action in the chambers b and c are arranged in the same direction. 7

As the temperature in the chamber c,

wherein actual combustion takes place, is higher than the temperature in the chamber 5, I advantageously provide for imparting some of the heat of the gases passing up through the pipe 2' to the gases which are drawn from the passage 2' and reintroduced into the chamber 7), this additional heat assisting in the distillation of the fuel in the said chamber. As shown in the drawing, the pipe or fiue 2' is provided with a lateral extension n on one side and which forms an inner wall of the passage j, and into this extension projects a baflle or deflector n which will compel the gases passing through the pipe 2' to pass in contact with the wall a and therebyheat the latter, which heat in its turn will be imparted to the gases drawn through the pipe j tobe reintroduced into the chamber 5.

Instarting the apparatus a fire must be lighted upon the grate g to heat up the apparatus to the desired temperature as previously stated, and when this temperature has been obtained it 'will be maintained by the combustion within the respective chambers. The ashes resulting from the combus-. tion of the fuel ultimately fall through the supplementary grate m on to the grate g and through the latter into the ash-pit g chamber 0 with the air through a pipe 0 arranged within the pipe Z, in which case producer gas will be generated.

If it is not desired to ultimately obtain gases of two distinct kinds, the two kinds of gas which are generated can be mixed together, in which case the cone (Z is arranged to open at the upper end of the chamber 0 directly into a pipe 2' into which the gas from the said chamber 0 also enters in a manner which will be clearly understood by reference to Fig. 7

In order to facilitate the escape of the illuminating gases a steam jet may be provided in the pipe 2' as indicated at 79 in Fig. 8. A similar device can also be employed in connection with the pipe 2': to facilitate the escape of the gases from the chamber 0. Or in place of a steam jet any suitable mechanical device can be used.

Fig. 8 also shows an arrangement wherein the gas introduced into the chamber 5 through the pipe 7' is gas drawn from the chamber 0 by a fan k or other applianc for effecting the introduction.

In the arrangement of my invention shown in Fig. 1 it is assumed that the walls are lined with some non-conducting material; in order, however, to utilize the heatto the best advantage I, in some cases, arrange a jacket through which the air or gas, introduced into the respective chambers for producing the vortex action therein, will be caused to pass before entering the distilling and combustion chambers. Such an arrangement is shown in Figs. 9 to 10. In these figures 9' indicates a jacket surrounding the chamber Z) and to which jacket the pipe j extending from the passage 2' is connected so that the gas drawn by the fan Z: from the passage 2' enters the said jacket. When I employ this jacket I advantageously form a series of tangential openings 1' around the wall of the chamber 6, as clearly indicated in Fig. 10, for the passage of the gas to form the vortex. The chamber 0 is also surrounded by a jacket 8, and the pipe. 6 through which the air is introduced into this jacket is connected with a jacket 8 which surrounds the passage i so that the heat of the gas passing through the said passage i will be transmitted through the wall thereof to the air which passesdown through the jacket 8 into the chamber 0. In this case also the heated air will enter the chamber 0 through a series of tangential openings 8 as indicated in Fig. 11. Furthermore, the pipe 0 through which the steamenters the chamber 0 can be extended up through the fur nace and into the pipe 2' as indicated in the said Fig. 9, so that the steam can be superheated.

In this modification the base of the cone (Z, instead of being carried nearly to the wall of the chamber 2) as in Fig. 1, is made smaller and the space between the said base and the wall is provided with a series of louver plates t similar to the plates m Fig. 4, to prevent mixing of the gases generated in the two chambers. The grate g is also dispensed with, the fire for starting the apparatus being made on the grid m. i

To obviate the necessity for employing'an exterior independent boiler for the generation of steam when steam is required for making producer gas,'I advantageously arrange a boiler within the apparatus itself and which will be heated by the heat due to the combustion which takes place therein. Such an arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 12 wherein it indicates the boiler which is located in the chamber 0, water being introduced into the said boiler through the pipe 14 and the steam escaping therefrom through the pipe a and vbeing conducted, by a pipe M to a nozzle '0 within the air admission pipe 12 In this modification also I have dispensed with the use of a circular or vortex action for maintaining-the fuel in mothe gas during its passage through the chamber 0 being superheated. In a-similar way the air introduced into the chamber .7 through the pipe o willmaintain the requisite current for the movement of the fuel in said chamber. is a partition between the chambers I) and c with inclined openings which while allowing the passage of the fuel prevent the mixing of the gases from the two chambers.

Claims.

1. Afi apparatus for the generation of gas from fuel in pulverulent condition comprising a distilling chamber, means for feeding pulverulent fuel into said chamber, an outlet for the gas generated in said chamber, a passage directly connecting the outlet and chamber, and a fan for causing a portion of the gas entering the outlet to be returned through the passage directly to said chamber for agitating said fuel.

2. .An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the chamber has a curved wall and the passage opens tangentially into said chamber to cause the returned gas to whirl Y the pulverulent fuel.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including a lower chamber, arranged beneath the distilling chamber, into which the fuel treated in the distilling chamber falls by gravity.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including a lower chamber, arranged beneath the distilling chamber, into which the fuel treated in the distilling chamber falls by gravity, and a hollow cone arranged in the distilling chamber and having its base communicating iwith the lower chamber, and a gas outlet for the lower chamber connected to the apex of the cone.

5. An apparatus for the generation of gas from fuel in pulverulent condition,

comprising a first distilling chamber, means for feeding pulverulent fuel into said chamher, an outlet for the gas generated in said chamber, a passage placing the chamber and outlet in direct communication, means for causing a portion of the gas entering the outlet to be directly returned through the passage to said chamber for agitating said fuel, a second distilling chamber adapted to receive the fuel after it has been treated in the first chamber, and means for conducting gas generated in the second chamber through said first chamber to cause heat exchange between the gases.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, having means for admitting air to the sec ond distilling chamber,

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 having means for admitting steam and air to the second distilling chamber.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, in which the first distilling chamber has a curved wall and the passage, returnin a portion of the gas generated to the rst chamber, opens tangentially into said first chamber to cause the returned gas to whirl the pulverulent fuel.

9. An apparatus for generating gas from pulverulent fuel comprising upper and lower distilling chambers in communication with each other, means for feeding pulverulent fuel into the upper chamber, a gas communication with one side of said upper chamber, means for causing a portion of the gas entering said outlet to be returned to the upper chamber throughfsaid passage, a hollow cone located in the upper chamber and having one of its ends communicating .chamber, means for introducing pulverulent .fuel into said chamber, a fire-box located beneath said chamber, means for introducin'g a gaseous current under pressure into said chamber for sweeping the pulverulent fuel through the chamber, and a grid arranged between the fire-box and chamber and having inclined bars for preventing the gaseous current from disturbing the fire in the fire-box.

J ULES HIPPOLYTE CQRTHESY. 

